Customers are the real winners in Henkel’s acquisition of National Adhesives, as they now have a global player at hand offering the broadest and deepest technological expertise and application know-how.

“Integration: To make different parts a functional and structural whole.” This definition couldn’t be a more appropriate description of both a successful corporate merger and the capabilities of a powerful industrial adhesive – two criteria at the heart of activity at Henkel.

Following the sale of ICI to AkzoNobel last year, it was announced in April 2008 that Henkel would acquire ICI´s National Adhesives (in addition to the Electronic Material division of National Starch). Both companies have long competed in the same markets, however both have a good deal of cultural and operational synergies, in addition to some of the best adhesive offerings available in an even wider range of technologies. This means that this integration offers significant opportunities for customers.

“The acquisition made great business sense, and allows us to offer customers an unmatched portfolio of solutions” explains Jean Fayolle, Corporate Senior Vice President Industrial Adhesives, Henkel. “The focus of our integration has been to ensure a smooth transition across our Industrial Adhesives portfolio and operations. We’re confident we have everything in place to provide our customers with a solution for any application, at the level of quality they’re accustomed to.”

Strong team to serve the customer
Key personnel from both organizations are now working together in Henkel’s combined Industrial Adhesives team. Research and development teams are looking at new raw materials, new adhesive technologies, and new processing methods. This ultimately means faster delivery of new market offerings thanks to greater resources. With some of the best people in the industry working side-by-side, existing National and Henkel customers can expect even more innovative additions to an already impressive combined product portfolio.

In addition to world-class technical expertise, the new team’s sheer size and global reach mean huge customer advantages. Not only can the integrated team deliver solutions to any industrial market in the world, it also has an even greater local presence thanks to combined resources. Enhanced sales operations and more points of contact means a consistent standard of service as well as greater access to local technical specialists, customer service teams, process solutions teams and engineered solutions teams.

“Essentially customers keep all the benefits of their existing relationships but now have access to even more expertise and a more complete range of products,” asserts Fayolle. “We’re a customer centric organization, our product specialists are experts in optimizing processes and offering advice and insight into trends, best practice and the latest technologies. Equally important is the fact we’ll be able to explore each other’s technologies in greater depth, diversifying market offerings without compromising on quality. We’re also confident that the combined purchasing power of the new company will offer customers the best supply security in the industry, wherever they’re located.”

Everybody Benefits
With the acquisition, customers can expect new adhesive technologies across all of Henkel’s adhesives divisions including: construction; packaging; labeling, flexible packaging; paper converting; nonwovens; graphic arts, tissue and towel, as well as tapes and labels.

Two innovative products on offer include EASY-PAC and AEROBOND. EASY-PAC is an all in one package sealing solution comprising a low-temperature, char-free adhesive, a dispensing system with an integrated auto-fill for no-touch filling, and a replacement part guarantee. EASY-PAC is a clean and safe system that uses a lot less energy than other adhesive products. The dispensing system is available free of charge, making it an ideal addition to the food packaging production line.
Devised to enhance productivity for carton and box manufacturers, AEROBOND incorporates a laminating adhesive with a unique and patented foaming unit. This device introduces air bubbles into the adhesive mix, substantially reducing the volume of adhesive used in lamination and in litho-lamination.

“As a combined operation, we are now even better placed to create value for customers,” says Fayolle. “These sectors only stand to benefit from our combined experience. It’s a win-win situation. We are confident that our hard work will result in a promising future for our customers and us.”